In 1965, the Cuban government arrested two Southern Baptist missionaries and several Cuban Baptists and charged them with multiple crimes, including espionage. Almost immediately, a backlash to the arrests swept across Baptists in the United States. During the four years between the missionaries’ imprisonment and their release, W.A. Criswell, conservative pastor of the massive First Baptist Church of Dallas, incorporated the missionaries’ testimonies into his own agenda. This thesis examines Herbert Caudill’s experiences as a part of rising conservatism in the Southern Baptist Convention in the late nineteen sixties and explains the role of anti-communism and the Cold War as a subject of Baptist debate. It also places the U.S. South in a global context by examining the transnational nature of the Cuban Baptist mission and in Herbert Caudill’s identity. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2019. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Dr. W. A. Criswell is the well known pastor of the twenty-seven thousand member historic First Baptist Church in downtown Dallas, Texas. He has held the position for the past forty-three years. Until now no one has attempted an in-depth study of Criswell's educational contributions to the First Baptist Church (which have also been adopted into the Southern Baptist denomination, America's largest Protestant religious organization). Although Criswell has been the Senior Pastor of the First Baptist Church of Dallas for many years, this was by no means his introduction to the pastorate. In 1928 he was ordained as a seventeen year old minister of the gospel in Amarillo, Texas. He has been a pastor for over sixty years. Criswell has made a lasting impact on the church staff, school staff (Criswell College and First Baptist Academy), students in those schools, the Southern Baptist denomination and also the city of Dallas. He has been one of the key figures in evangelical national movements. Presidents, Vice-Presidents, Senators, and Governors are no strangers to a Sunday morning service held in the large sanctuary in downtown Dallas. Much of the research for this project originated from the Oral Memoirs of W. A. Criswell. a program for oral history done by two professors (Charlton and Spain) from Baylor University. The study begins with a historical review of the setting of the First Baptist Church in 1944 when Criswell came to be pastor. Next there is a review of Criswell's early life that reveal influences which molded his educational philosophies. The body of knowledge is then presented which points out significant events, contributions, institutions and associations provided by Criswell. Finally, seventeen conclusions are drawn from the data presented. The study provides helpful information to pastors, church administrators, seminary students, theological professors and other individuals involved in education and administration.